Samsung to Debut 5.5-Inch Galaxy Note Tablet

Samsung is planning to introduce a new Galaxy Note tablet Aug. 29 at the IFA 2012 trade show in Berlin, according to a report from Play Infinite, citing a Seoul newspaper.

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note in November 2011, initially calling the device -- with its 5.3-inch display and S Pen stylus -- a smartphone. The company has since sold more than 10 million Notes, executives shared during an Aug. 15 event in Manhattan, during which they introduced another model -- the Galaxy Note 10.1, which has a display as big as its name.

The newest Note, says Play Infinite, will slide in between the two, featuring a 5.5-inch display. "This one's running a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 processor, and as far as I know, that processor actually doesn't support LTE radios, meaning it will probably just have the HSPA+, as well as 3G," said Play Infinite.

The site also reports that customers can expect 16GB and 32GB storage options. Two welcome advances, if the rumors hold up, are the speedy quad-core processor and the "Jelly Bean" version of Google's Android that's said to be running on the tablet out-of-the-box. That's a definite upgrade over the Ice Cream Sandwich on the Note 10.1 and the Gingerbread that the Note originally shipped with.

Apple -- though it has yet to send out invitations or confirm anything of the sort -- is expected to introduce the iPhone 5 Sept. 12. Hopping into the spotlight before Apple takes it over, Nokia, Motorola, Amazon and others are expected to make device announcements the week before.